Kota Kinabalu: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Datuk Chin Su Phin (pic) urged all Malaysians, including Malays, not to be misled by Umno and PAS in joining the rally against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 8. He took Umno and PAS to task for insisting on holding the anti-ICERD rally, now being rebranded as a gathering to show appreciation to the Government, even though the Government has decided not to ratify the United Nations convention.

With both parties claiming that up to 500,000 supporters would turn up at the rally, Chin said the gathering could disrupt businesses in the federal capital and leave a bad impression on tourists.

He was also worried that the rally might led to untoward incidents or riots.

"Since Umno and PAS are adamant about joining the rally, they should be held accountable should any untoward incidents happen," he said in a statement.

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Chin said there was no reason to hold the rally given that the Government has decided against ratifying the ICERD.

"Umno and PAS' claims that the rally is held to show appreciation to the Government is a lame excuse."

On this note, he said the Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been wise in deciding not to sign the ICERD for the sake of the people's safety.

Chin pointed out that 179 countries have ratified or acceded to the ICERD, including many Muslim nations, while 14 countries have yet to sign the United Nations convention.

"Of the 14 countries, Malaysia and Brunei are the only Muslim-majority countries that have yet to ratify the ICERD."

He said the ICERD would not undermine the position of Malays, Islam and the Royal institution because their rights were safeguarded by Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

"Even if our government ratifies the ICERD, there is no need to amend Article 153 of the Federal Constitution."

Besides, Chin said the matter of ICERD was raised in the Parliament for debate before the Government made its decision.

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He claimed that Umno and PAS has used ICERD to stoke racial sentiment to advance their political agenda.

"From what I see, there have been several Umno leaders charged in court recently and I believe more will be prosecuted in the near future.

"Umno has come to the end of the road and the only way to survive was to incite racial sentiment, by using ICERD as a tactic to rally Malays and subsequently pressure the Prime Minister to step down."

He said Umno has also accused Democratic Action Party (DAP) for causing racial divide.

"I do not believe our Malay friends will blindly listen to Umno and PAS and join the street rally.

"I hope all Malaysians will not be misled by Umno and PAS and destroy the racial harmony we cherish."

Chin hoped the police and security forces would be able to get the rally participants under control if 500,000 people did turn up.

He also called on the Government to take action against individuals who deliberately cause chaos under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) should any untoward incidents arose in the rally.

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He said Umno and PAS should accept the reality of their defeat in the 14th General Election (GE14) and allow the new Government run the country without disruption.

He said any issues could be raised and debated in Parliament by the over 40 Umno Members of Parliament (MPs).